One question has haunted my investment strategy for years: What is cryptocurrency actually for? It feels as though the vibes are constantly shifting — one day it’s the dollar’s successor, and the next it’s little more than a meme. My guest this week is bitcoin evangelist Anthony Pompliano, the chief executive of ProCap Financial. We get into whether crypto is a bet against the American empire and whether its volatility is actually a strength.
- 0:00 - Intro
- 01:27 - Physical to digital: The evolution of financial assets
- 05:00 - The wealth inequality gap
- 09:58 - The global adoption of crypto
- 14:51 - Bitcoin vs. Ethereum
- 20:26 - Why "stability" is a financial lie
- 29:30 - A “digital savings account”
- 41:57 - The role of Bitcoin in political dynamics
- 56:05 - “A bet against America”
(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)
Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Interesting Times with Ross Douthat.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Hosts & Guests
Information
- Show
- Channel
- FrequencyUpdated weekly
- Published23 April 2026 at 09:00 UTC
- RatingClean